PMK president Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss on Tuesday said that the Union Government’s new position on Mekedatu, articulated by the Minister of State, Jal Shakti, Raj Bhushan Choudhary on Monday, shows that “a large-scale conspiracy is underway to deny Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu, and that the Union Government itself is a participant in it” and urged the Tamil Nadu Government to convene an all-party leaders’ meeting to discuss the issue.

In a statement, he said both the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress have always acted against the interests of Tamil Nadu on the Cauvery issue. “It was a mistake for the BJP-led Union Government to grant approval in 2018 for the preparation of the Detailed Project Report for the Mekedatu dam. The Congress leadership failed to condemn that betrayal of Tamil Nadu. Now, continuing along the same path, the BJP-led Union Government and the Congress Government in Karnataka are jointly weaving yet another conspiracy against Tamil Nadu. This conspiracy must be exposed and defeated,” he said.

Dr. Anbumani further said MoS Choudhury had selectively cited a portion of the Supreme Court judgement dated February 16, 2018, to create an impression that Tamil Nadu has no right on Cauvery water issue. While the enactment of 1947 Act ensured that doctrine of paramountcy ceasing to apply, the agreements of 1892 and 1924 between Madras Presidency and Mysore State were not political.

“These agreements have neither become inoperative nor lapsed completely. Karnataka cannot construct any dam without the consent of Tamil Nadu, the downstream riparian state. By concealing this fact and claiming that Tamil Nadu’s consent is unnecessary for constructing the Mekedatu dam, the Union Government is deliberately misleading the public,” he charged.